Free Mistress of Redemption by Joey W. Hill

“You might just stay erect
    for me most of the time. Of course,
    you seem to stay that way for me
    now. It’s very impressive.”
    “Come down here and let me impress
    you more.” His voice was desperate,
    even to his own ears.
    37
    Joey W. Hill
    She tsked at him. “With your size, I
    like keeping you fully erect. It will
    keep you dizzy and off balance.
    That’s a good thing for you.”
    “Dona—” He clenched his fists in his
    restraints as she turned away. As
    Fiona raised the first needle and
    Olivia put the clamp on his left
    nipple, lifting it, he cried out, unable
    to bear it anymore. “ Tell me what the
    fuck this place is .”
    She glanced over her shoulder. He
    tried to cling to her expression and
    not look at what was about to happen
    to him. The binding on his forehead
    loosened. Seizing his collar, Mariah
    cupped the back of his head, forcing
    it down so he had to watch the needle
    come toward his nipple. He strained
    against her grip, trying to get one
    more glimpse of his Mistress.
    “You know where we are, Jonathan.”
    Dona raised her arms and spun,
    gesturing to the palm trees, lush grass
    and mirror-like lagoon, the gently
    shining sun. “This is Hell.”
    As she stepped through a portal that
    opened like a shimmering mirage
    between two palm trees, he began to
    scream.
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    Mistress of Redemption
    Chapter Five
    Lucifer summoned her to one of His
    more pleasant illusion chambers.
    This one was like a gentleman’s
    study in a Victorian novel. Except an
    inordinately large fire roared in the
    grate and the pictures on the walls
    tended to shift in macabre images.
    The gargoyle statues positioned
    around the room might be alive or
    inanimate from moment to moment.
    He sat in a deep wing-backed chair.
    Approaching at His gesture, she
    dropped to her knees. Bowing her
    head, Dona felt that inexplicable
    desire she always felt in His
    presence, to just put her head in His
    lap and be comforted where no
    comfort could be had.
    “Now you’re submissive and
    obedient.” He snorted. The wave of
    heat from the gesture brought sulfur to
    her nostrils. “Moments ago you were
    defiant as a child. ‘This is my home’, indeed.”
    “This is my home, my Lord. Where I
    want to be.”
    “This is not where you want to be.
    This is where you hide.”
    “Do I not serve you well here?”
    When she felt His regard over His
    cup of wine, she raised her gaze. He
    was everything the books said. The
    fallen angel, too beautiful to be real,
    but also not exactly what they thought
    He was. He had many names, none of
    which was completely accurate or
    defined him. He was as much Hades
    to the Greeks as He was Satan to the
    Christians or the Horned God to the
    pagans. He could be the shadow in
    the night or the mightiest of the angels
    serving a terrible, fearful purpose.
    The purpose that provided a fallen
    soul a new beginning when it was
    needed. Or the bridge to continue the
    journey to enlightenment.
    She didn’t mind the smell of sulfur
    anymore, any more than she minded
    the smell of death, rotting flesh, or
    sounds of pain. Those things were
    pure in their intent here.
    While she did not presume to know a
    tenth of the mysteries that governed
    the Being before her, she knew He
    never lied to her. Even when she
    wanted Him to do so.
    “You serve me well here.” He
    inclined His head. “You’ve taken at
    least a thousand souls through
    Redemption, delivered them to the
    Hall of Souls for their return to
    Purgatory. Perhaps somehow that’s
    made you believe you belong here.
    I’ve watched you be stimulated by
    your skill with them, the way an artist
    is enthralled by how her hand moves
    a paintbrush on blank canvas. Out of
    all those thousand souls, you’ve not
    once been stimulated by the creation
    itself. Until now.”
    Unbidden, she saw Nathan in her
    mind. The smooth firmness of his
    lips, his broad palms. It was not
    difficult to imagine his long fingers
    stroking her skin. Penetrating her 39
    Joey